Estonia helps establish educational center in Ukraine

TALLINN - A new education and innovation center, EDUHUB, a result of cooperation between Estonia and Ukraine, was opened in the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr on September 12.

The goal of EDUHUB is to offer teachers a modern learning and development environment and to support the implementation of STEAM education, technology education, and innovative teaching methods in the Zhytomyr Oblast.

The contribution of the Tallinn Teachers' House to the creation of EDUHUB has been multifaceted. Within the project, the Tallinn Teachers' House has been responsible for planning and organizing the training program, participating in the selection of necessary STEAM equipment and furnishings for the center, and supporting its substantive development. In collaboration with the company Insplay, practical STEAM learning materials and modern educational tools have been developed to support both teacher training and children's learning activities.

Hele Leek-Ambur, the director of the Tallinn Teachers' House, noted that it is difficult to put into words how much warmth and gratitude filled their days in Zhytomyr. "Thanks to the support of ESTDEV, the Tallinn Teachers' House was able to carry out a truly meaningful undertaking - the creation of the innovative education and competence center EDUHUB. We equipped the center with modern teaching aids and initiated training courses that provide local teachers with new knowledge and opportunities."

Over the coming months, the focus will be on supporting the professional development of teachers, preparing local trainers, and promoting the wider use of the center's facilities. A key goal of the project is to create a strong local network of trainers in the Zhytomyr Oblast. To this end, a core group of 19 Ukrainian teachers is participating in the project; their task, after completing the training, is to share the acquired knowledge and experience with other teachers in the region. This approach helps ensure the project's sustainability and creates a system that will continue to function even after the project concludes.

"The dedication of Ukrainian educators deserves great recognition - they continue their work at a time when their country is at war. This makes it all the more important to maintain and develop cooperation and professional exchange of experiences between our educational institutions," said Tallinn Deputy Mayor Andrei Kante. "The opening of EDUHUB provides an opportunity to share the practical experiences of Tallinn's educational institutions with our Ukrainian colleagues and to expand our cooperation network. I thank the specialists of the Tallinn Teachers' House and our partners, whose work has made this possible. We also have a lot to learn from our Ukrainian colleagues. By visiting schools and kindergartens in Zhytomyr, we gained valuable knowledge on how to manage educational institutions and ensure the continuation of studies in a crisis situation," Kante added.

The opening of EDUHUB was also attended by Kaidi Klaas, project manager at the Tallinn Teachers' House, partners from ESTDEV, and representatives from the Ukrainian education sector. The EDUHUB project is an excellent example of how international cooperation, mutual trust, and a shared desire to contribute to education can help create a lasting impact on teachers, learners, and communities as a whole.